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Sunday, November 06, 2011

We aren't quite ready for the big picture yet (and may never be), but little by little our new home is coming together. Joe's brother, who is a professional painter, was here visiting from Ohio for the past week, helping us check a few more jobs off the final construction list. Among other things, we now have 17 beautiful white windowsills!

Meanwhile, eclectic vintage is our decorating theme: easygoing, comfortable, beautifully designed, fun to look at, well loved, useful. Prized posessions that have been tucked away for far too long have new homes alongside recently found treasures.

The cat rug, a gift 20 years ago, has been rolled up in a closet for the last 10 years; it now sits on the oak floor next to my side of the bed. The embroidered coffee pot tea towel has been in my collection for ages; the red cart it's hanging on was scored last month. I discovered vintage enamelware three or four years ago and am now enamored with it. I use it all over the place.

The Pyrex nesting bowls are part of a set that were my grandmother's. The red bakelite flatware and white Bauer flowerpot moved with me from California to Missouri (17 years ago today!), as did the Art Deco chair 16-year-old Molly Doodlebug is sitting on—all favorite finds from my years as an antiques dealer. The red-rimmed bowl was a $5 splurge because it made me so happy when I first saw it sitting in a display case—and still does.

The battered old cheerful yellow dresser, pretty table scarf, hand painted child's chair, and cool 50s lamp sit at the top of the stairs and were found during four different trips to my favorite junk mall over the past two years. Total cost: $43. The glow of the lamp is so cozy that we've been turning it on each evening.

Old glass jars are perfect for laundry soaps, and the $1.25 white Fire King mug I keep in the shower for rinsing my razor (next to the $1.50 Fire King 'soap bowl') is such an improvement over the old cottage cheese container I was using!

All of it makes me smile. The little things really can bring us so much joy each day.

Beautiful! I'm so glad you are in your new place. I still daydream that someday you'll host farm "vacations" for blog readers with loads of money, and that when you do I will suddenly come into loads of money to spend on one :) But sharing pictures and stories of the farm & farm critters is very generous all on it's own.

Susan,What a fantastic little tour, and I must say, I swooned when I saw the cat rug....oh my....I am so happy for you that you have that treasure. All your things are those on my fave list, too. Beautiful things. So happy for you that these treasures can come out of hiding. Enjoy your new home. You and Joe have earned it.Marcia

I just went back to see your new pantry. You have the fire king with the red flowers. I still have some of these. During the summers while I was in college, my mom had me do the grocery shopping. A store that she seldom used had some kind of offer where you could get these ovenware pieces. That was 50 years ago. It was so neat to see how you are using these classics.

I love your collections. The red and yellow handled cutlery particularly caught my eye and the cat rug! So glad it is finally seeing the light of day. Looks like Molly Doodlebug is enjoying the new set-up too. Feel free to show us more any time (and don't worry: No One is ever ready to show the whole picture!)

Susan, What fun to see your favorites! The cat rug is wonderful and I love the old dishes. I have old bowls from my grandmother that I use all the time and I smile every time I pull them out to make something. There's something about the continuity of women using special dishes to create food and happy memories for their families that I hope will always last. Sharon from Maine

I love it when you share this part of your life. I know all too well about the things hidden away because there was no place for them at the time. Now that my life has been distilled down to four rooms and a bath, all the things I've loved and cherished have come out of the closet and fill my corners and walls with love and nostalgia. My friend, who decorates with great femininity which I love, always says when she comes that my apartment is so 'homey'. I take that as a great compliment. Thanks Christy.

My husband and I hope to live in the country some day in the future. We now live in a very small town of 150 people surrounded by corn fields, so it is close to country living for us. Seeing your pics and hearing your stories keeps me in that mind frame! Thanks for sharing your life with us:)

I love the red rimmed bowl and your "updated" soap dish! I have a four-piece set of those Pyrex bowls in yellow, green, red and blue that I bought 25-30 years ago at an antique store in Bakersfield, CA and I LOVE them!

Congratulations on your 17th anniversary in MO! Perhaps someday you could let your faithful readers in on how you and Joe met - in CA? In MO? Curious minds want to know! And love your stuff - I've never seen a pink enamel saucepan, fabulous! And Molly...SO sweet.

I am a huge fan of Pyrex. I just cannot stop picking up pieces. I have a pretty open shelf that most of my pieces fit on, and they just make me so happy. I think of them as the dishware equivalent of Pez candy. Bright, cute and they stack!

I also really love vintage sheets - usually floral patterned. Sheets from the 60's and 70's just have a softness that I will take over the highest quality Egyptian cotton.

January 2013 update: I know word verification is a big pain, but it's the only way I can stop the ridiculous number of anonymous spam comments I get every day. I don't want to require commenters to be registered Blogger or Open ID users because I know many of you aren't. Thanks so much for your understanding!

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